Hold Me Tight
by Anniemoonwhisper
Summary: Clara notices that The Doctor has been pushing himself lately, so she looks after him.
1. chapter 1

**Hi, this is my first Fanfiction so please don't be harsh, constructive criticism only! I hope you enjoy!**

'Are you all right?' Clara questioned The Doctor, walking carefully towards him. He had his hands on the TARDIS console, his hunched back and tense muscles indicating he hadn't yet recovered from their previous adventure. It's not everyday you begin a Sontaran Civil War, take over their government and relocate the entire population to another Galaxy. Although, with The Doctor, it could just be.

Clara had a feeling that her adventures with The Doctor where getting more intense of late. She was often struggling to balance her Doctor life and her Earth life. She was finally beginning to understand why Amy, The Doctor's previous companion, was considering the value of her real life and her time-travelling life. In truth, the only thing that was holding Clara back was the fact that it was virtually impossible to have a social life while she was travelling with The Doctor. As well as the uncertainty, of course – she never knew when she was going to be kidnapped by an alien race, or sucked into a black hole...

However, at the end of the day, The Doctor would deposit Clara in the right time stream and it was 'bye bye, see you next Wednesday!' At least Clara got a week (minimum, The Doctor's timing was atrocious) to recover from her time-travelling adventures. The Doctor, on the other hand... Clara was under the impression that he was just going non stop; from one crazy adventure to the next. Clara had never seen The Doctor's bedroom on the TARDIS and was honestly beginning to doubt its existence. She could swear the only time The Doctor got any rest was when he was knocked out or drugged (to be fair, these events were quite common) however they couldn't compare to a good night's sleep.

'Doctor?' Clara spoke again, gingerly inching closer to her unresponding companion. When she was right by his side, Clara bent down to study his face from below. The Doctor's eyes were closed, however even in the shadows Clara spotted the unmistakable dark rings under The Doctor's eyes.

'Doctor, can you hear me?' Clara spoke for the third time, gently shaking the Time Lord's shoulder. The physical contact seemed to finally ground The Doctor and he lifted his head to look at Clara in confusion.

'Hmmmm? Yeah, fine...thinking...' He mumbled, finally releasing the pressure from his arms and began to walk away. Clara quickly noted his unstable manner, therefore prepared and ready to catch her friend when he stumbled and collapsed on his second step.

'Doctor!' Clara supported him from behind while angling his face towards her to channel his concentration to her face. The Doctor was on the verge of consciousness, and was fighting a losing battle with sleep. When his eyelids finally dropped and didn't reopen, Clara removed his jacket and the half dragged, half carried The Doctor to the area underneath the podium where the TARDIS heating system was centred. Clara propped her sleeping companion up against the panel, and rushed to her Earth room which the TARDIS was parked inside. She hoped it hadn't aroused the neighbours. The last thing she needed was Dave and Edna from downstairs coming up to complaining.

Within a couple of minutes, Clara was back with The Doctor. With a handful of blankets and pillows, Clara only took a few seconds to observe the dreaming Time Lord (what do Time Lords dream about?) before getting to work. In his sleep The Doctor looked so innocent... So young. Clara waved these thoughts away and stepped back to admire her handiwork. The Doctor was snuggled in multiple blankets, surrounded by pillows and was subconsciously clutching a cuddly unicorn toy. Clara couldn't resist a smile creeping to her lips and she went to make herself some tea. When she returned, The Doctor hadn't moved an inch and was still happily cuddling in his makeshift bed. Clara once again couldn't resistance smile and, after only a moment's hesitation, she joined The Doctor under the covers. Accepting her as his new teddy bear, The Doctor pulled Clara close and curled into her. Clara hugged him back and fell asleep happier than she had in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2!**

Clara awoke in the warm embrace of the man she cared for most in the universe (in fact, any universe). The Doctor was still sound asleep, looking so vulnerable... Clara found it hard to believe he would hurt a fly. Then, however, she scolded herself because she well knew that The Doctor only killed in self defence and when it was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, he had always tried to save as many people as he could. He had looked over and watched over billions of life forms... And now Clara was going to look after and watch over him.

Clara rubbed the sleep dust out of her eyes and checked her watch. Unfortunately, all it told her was that it was 9:30. Whether that was AM or PM she had no clue; there didn't seem to be any concept of day and night in the TARDIS. Stretching out and yawning widely, Clara tilted her head towards The Doctor.

He was almost completely submerged under the covers, looking as young and boyish as Clara had ever seen him. Grinning to herself, Clara groped under the covers until she found what she was looking for. She gently lifted The Doctor's arms off herself and offered him the fluffy unicorn. The Doctor snuggled it close and an unmistakable twitch of a smile fell onto his face.

Clara pushed the blankets off herself and shuffled towards the TARDIS doors. She was a bit stiff from sleeping in her normal clothes, plus her stomach was aching for breakfast.

The sun in her kitchen hit Clara like a smack in the face – the shady interior of the TARDIS was what she was used to. Squinting to adjust, Clara poured herself a glass of water and begun. Luckily it was the weekend therefore her presence would not be missed at work. Clara scrambled around the kitchen making a large breakfast; she was cooking for two. She had no idea what The Doctor ate (it was probably something peculiar like smoked salmon and jelly) so she loaded a tray with all she could find. She decided to omit a soufflé as she would probably burn it. Once everything was complete, Clara grabbed her masterpiece with one hand and pushed open the TARDIS doors with the other. The dim was kind on her eyes and she was aware to her pupils dilating and adjusting to the change of lighting. She could swear it was darker than usual and pondered over the idea of the TARDIS acknowledging its master's needs.

Clara made her way down the steps. She just couldn't resist a smile creeping to her lips at the sight of The Doctor, curled up in a sea of blankets on the floor of the TARDIS, clutching a stuffed unicorn happily. Clara wished she could freeze this moment and make it last forever.

In the end, it took another two days for The Doctor to wake. Clara refused to leave his side for long, therefore she called in sick at work and ordered groceries online. Every meal she made she brought to The Doctor, but only ended up eating of herself. As the third day dawned, Clara pulled up her usual chair and opened a good book, ready to watch over her friend as he slept. Suddenly, he mumbled something incomprehensible. Clara walked over and kneeled by him, running her fingers through his hair gently.

'Ara' The Doctor mumbled, repeating the same word over and over again until Clara understood what he was trying to say.

'Clara' The Doctor uttered, fumbling around to find her.

'It's all right, I'm here.' Clara reassured him, caressing his cheek affectionately. A crack appeared where The Doctor parted his eyelids a millimetre, and it grew wider until he was staring at Clara with those big, confused, hazel eyes.

'Where am I... What happened?' he croaked frantically before clearing his throat.

'You're safe, you're in the TARDIS.' Clara assured him quickly, passing The Doctor a glass of water.

The look of confusion on The Doctor's face as he looked around him at the blankets, pillows, and namely the unicorn was so absolute that Clara struggled to stifle a laugh. Finally looking at Clara, The Doctor saw her grinning cheekily.

'Oy!' He exclaimed, obviously more or less back to his old self. 'How long was I out?' he then asked quietly. Clara wasn't sure how to respond, but finally decided to just tell him the truth.

'Three days.' She admitted shyly, surveying the Time Lord's reaction. He just nodded silently, and Clara had to admit he definitely looked refreshed; the dark circles under The Doctor's eyes were gone and his whole face seemed to be giving off a faint glow.

Helping The Doctor up, Clara supported him from the side in case he was still unsteady and all it took was one look from The Doctor for her to understand his unspoken gratitude. She gestured to the food tray in the corner and they made their way over.

'I didn't know what you liked so...' The Doctor surveyed the tray before turning to Clara and asking somewhat shyly but mischievously.

'Do you have fish fingers and custard?'

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, I would really appreciate some feedback!**


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